Yann Cramer

After studying at Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, Yann joined Shell in 1988, progressing through business roles in Chemicals, Bitumen and Lubricants. From 2010, he revamped innovation capabilities of Lubricants R&D, creating an innovation culture and fostering collaborations with an increasingly open ecosystem. He also reset the Science programme with partners such as MIT and Tsinghua University, pioneering the creation of a University Technology Centre at Imperial College London. Yann shares his passion for innovation by blogging, speaking at conferences and teaching at La Sorbonne university. He is a contributor to the collective book J'Innove Donc Je Suis (Ed. L'Harmattan, Paris, 2013).

Dr Philip Camp

Research is focused on the development and application of computer simulation methods and statistical mechanics to study condensed-matter systems such as liquids, solids, and colloidal suspensions. Recent studies include: the thermodynamics and magnetic properties of ferrofluids; the processes of polymeric self-assembly and deposition on surfaces driven by solvent evaporation; the adsorption of surfactants on colloidal surfaces; kinetic friction in lubricated systems; the structure, dynamics, and phase behaviour of ionic fluids; the design and characterisation of nanoscale drug-delivery devices; biomineralisation in diatoms.

Biography

B.A. (Hons) Chemistry, University of Oxford (1994)

Ph.D. Physics, University of Bristol (1997)

Isaak Walton Killam Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia (1997-2000)

Robert Mainwaring

Bob studied Mechanical Engineering at Loughborough University in the UK. After graduation in 1982, he was employed by Mirrlees Blackstone Diesels Ltd as a development engineer responsible for enhancing the efficiency of their 400mm bore K Major diesel engine. A three year spell with the UK’s National Nuclear Corporation focused on computational fluid dynamics followed. He was recruited by Shell in 1988 to research links between lubricants, engines and particulate emissions. Later roles have included lubricant additive research and Industry committee liaison, underpinning his current role as Technology Manager for Innovation within Shell’s Lubricants Technology group. Here Bob leads a wide range of projects targeted at enhancing, demonstrating and communicating the role of lubricants in the performance of engineering equipment.

Prof. Colin Pulham

Prof. Colin Pulham graduated with a DPhil. in Chemistry from the University of Oxford in 1991. He moved to the School of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh in 1992 as a Royal Society University Research Fellow before being appointed as a lecturer in 1996, senior lecturer in 2001, and Personal Chair in High-Pressure Chemistry in 2008. Since August 2015 he is the Head of the School of Chemistry.

He is a founding member of the Centre for Science at Extreme Conditions (CSEC) at Edinburgh and has research interests in the crystallisation of molecular compounds such as pharmaceuticals, energetic materials (explosives, propellants), fuels, and lubricants, under a range of conditions including elevated pressures and temperatures. Funding for these projects includes: EPSRC, Scottish Funding Council, Dstl, QinetiQ, BP-Castrol, Infineum, GSK, Defence Research and Development Canada, and the US Army. An ongoing industrial collaboration with a local SME (Sunamp) is focussed on the development of crystalline phase-change materials for compact thermal stores to replace domestic and industrial hot water tanks, and in automotive applications to provide pre-heating of key engine components. He is a member of the EPRSC National Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Continuous Manufacturing and Crystallisation, and also works closely with colleagues at the ISIS Neutron Facility and at the Diamond Light Source.

He has a longstanding interest in public engagement and was awarded the Royal Society Kohn Award for Excellence in Engaging the Public with Science in 2005 and the University of Edinburgh Tam Dalyell Prize in 2011. He is a member of the STFC Advisory Panel for Public Engagement.